Jammu, Aug. 24 -- During colonial rule, as India was reeling under scarce scientific infrastructure, a visionary philanthropist, Dr Mahendra Lal Sarcar, came forward to establish an institution entirely funded by his earnings from his medical practice, where Indians could pursue science through original research. Thus, the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) was established in Kolkata on July 29, 1876.
As IACS just celebrated its 150th anniversary, it stands not merely as India's oldest scientific research institution devoted to the pursuit of fundamental research in the frontier areas of basic sciences, but also as a living testimony to some of the greatest scientific minds it has nurtured over its long journey. It ha...